Book Review: Coup de Grace

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Coup de Grace     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
J. S. Borthwick
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Cozy   Woman Main Character
Series: Sarah Dean & Alex McKenzie # 10
St. Martin's, Feb 2000, $24.95, 352 pp.

Camden, Maine resident Sarah Douglas Deane receives her Ph.D. in English from Bowmouth College. Sarah also accepts a position for one semester at the Miss Merrit's School in Carlisle, Massachusetts. Her physician-husband agrees to visit his spouse on weekends. The first time he travels to see her, their happy union ends when they discover the corpse of a faculty member, Anita Gorshawk, an Art History instructor.

However, there is doubt as to whether Anita was the intended victim since she was wearing the distinguished cloak of the infamous Grace Charpentier. Apparently, all the students hate the arrogant martinet who teaches French. Grace has received death threats adding to the belief that she was supposed to be the victim. Sarah, unable to stay out of a murder investigation, begins some discreet sleuthing that takes her into more violent encounters.

The tenth Sara Deane mystery retains the charm and humor of the previous installments. COUP DE GRACE provides the audience an insider's look at a prep school that includes faculty fighting, student pranks, and political in fighting. This delightful cozy centers on a simple misdirection that shows that J.S. Borthwick knows how to entertain her fans.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner